Bill criminalizes killing fetus from conception LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas House has approved a bill that would criminalize the killing of a fetus from the moment of conception. The House on Tuesday voted 76-10 for the bill, sending it back to the Senate to OK an amendment adding additional exemptions, such as fetal deaths resulting from contraceptives or reproductive technology. The Senate unanimously passed the original bill earlier this month. Arkansas' criminal code currently...

House passes bill to keep fetal tissue from youths LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A bill that would require abortion providers to keep a sample of tissue from fetuses from juveniles has passed the Arkansas House. The bill by Republican Rep. Charlene Fite of Van Buren cleared on an 88-0 vote. Fite says keeping the tissue would give law enforcement evidence in case a girl was impregnated as a result of sexual abuse or statutory rape. Under the bill, the State Crime Laboratory will set rules on the amo...

Senate delays vote on voter ID requirement LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A vote on legislation that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls has been delayed over questions about procedure. The Senate on Monday delayed a vote on the voter ID legislation after a Democratic lawmaker questioned whether the Senate had previously approved the measure with the proper amount of votes. Similar concerns had come up in the House by Democrats who argued that the bill requires a t...

Tax exemption for farmers passes House LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas House has passed a bill to exempt farmers from sales taxes on utilities for several types of farm buildings. The bill by Democratic Rep. Jeff Wardlaw of Warren passed Monday on a 94-0 vote. The bill passes despite previous warnings from state finance officials that Gov. Mike Beebe's proposed balanced budget does not include room for additional tax reductions.

Arkansas professor discusses immigration reform LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The author of a book about immigration reform called on Arkansas to pass legislation that would extend in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, saying they have done nothing wrong. William A. Schwab spoke in Little Rock about the DREAM Act, a federal bill that would have offered citizenship to some young illegal immigrants. The legislation narrowly passed the U.S. House before being...

House passes Moment of Silence legislation LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - School days across Arkansas would begin with a moment of silence under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives. The bill by Republican Rep. Debra Hobbs of Rogers passed on a 79-4 vote Monday with no discussion prior to the vote. Rogers says the moment of silence would be time for students to "reflect, pray or engage in another ... activity."

State unemployment rate up to 7.2 percent LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - State officials say Arkansas' unemployment rate increased by one tenth of a percentage point to 7.2 percent in January. The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services says the state's civilian labor force decreased by 3,300 in January. Officials say the drop in employment mirrors the national rate, which increased to 7.9 percent in January. All eleven major industries reported job losses in January in Arkansas. Governme...

Planting moving earlier, corn starting in NE stateJONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Lake City farmer Garrett Qualls was planting corn Thursday near Caraway, Craighead County Agent Branon Thiesse said. "He's the only one that I know about, but there are several others who are doing ground preparation where it has dried up enough," Thiesse said. "There will probably be a lot more working the ground and likely several more planting corn as it warms up and the ground gets drier. "Garrett told me that everyo...

State prisons to address female inmate overcrowding PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - The board that oversees the Arkansas Correction Department is to hold a special meeting to address overcrowding of female inmates. The board is to meet by teleconference at 3:30 p.m. Monday to invoke the 90-day Emergency Powers Act, which can provide early release to some female inmates. The panel will also address a memorandum of understanding between the department and Washington County. Washington County is to house ...

Jonesboro industrial park gets $4M upgrade JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Jonesboro's city utility has completed $4 million in infrastructure improvements to the Craighead Technology Park as a way to help businesses there and attract new ones. The work was partially funded through state and federal grants awarded in 2009. The Jonesboro Sun reports (http://is.gd/LQ2efZ ) that an extension of a rail spur opened 400 more acres. Jonesboro has about 750 undeveloped acres in the park that can be use...

Arkansas River barge operators wait for cuts LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Businesses that rely on barge traffic on the 440-mile McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System to move fertilizer, grain and other commodities are raising concerns about looming federal budget cuts' effects on shipping. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates locks and dams along the river and oversees dredging activity to keep the river open for barge traffic. Laurie Driver, a Corps spokesman, said the agency...

Analysis: Different landscape for tuition bill LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Democratic Sen. Joyce Elliott and Republican Sen. Johnny Key haven't agreed on much during the first nine weeks of this legislative session, and have split on proposals to restrict abortions in Arkansas, voter ID requirements and competing bills to rewrite the state's school choice law. But their agreement on legislation to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants offers some hope to supporters of an idea that Elli...

Obama’s charm campaign: High marks, no concessions WASHINGTON (AP) — Over dinner at a fancy hotel a few blocks from the White House, Republican senators wanted to know if President Barack Obama would support a gradual increase in the age of eligibility for Medicare, set at 65 since the program’s inception more than four decades ago. The president hedged, according to several people at the event, recalling the discussion on a cost-saving change to Medicare that most if not all leading Democrats...

Missile plan changes may provide opening for talks WASHINGTON (AP) — By adding 14 interceptors to a missile defense system based in Alaska and California, the U.S. is abandoning a critical part of a European system strongly opposed by Russia. Yet the decision also could provide a potential opening for new arms control talks. The Obama administration on Friday cited development problems and a lack of money in announcing the cancellation of the interceptors set to be deployed in Poland and possi...

ND governor faces choice on abortion restrictions BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has all but enacted what would be two of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Now the state’s governor faces a choice. He can join with his fellow Republicans and approve measures that are likely to lead to a costly legal battle that opponents say will end in utter failure. Or he could veto bills that have enough support to pass without him, a move that would draw the ire of social conservatives...

Appropriators practice art of compromise WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s an outspoken feminist and former social worker. He’s a cigar-smoking Kentucky lawyer. But Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Rep. Harold Rogers have big things in common as they steer the House and Senate Appropriations committees toward a spending plan for the rest of the year that eases the bite of $85 billion in automatic spending cuts. Their tiny domain is the only place in a bitterly divide...

Ex-JPMorgan execs pressed about trading loss WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former high-ranking executives at JPMorgan Chase faced tough questions from senators Friday about why the bank played down risks and hid losses from regulators when it was losing billions of dollars. The hearing was held a day after the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a scathing report that ascribed widespread blame for $6.2 billion in trading losses to key executives at the nation’s biggest bank. D...

Obama says US must shift cars, trucks off of oil LEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Envisioning cars that can go “coast to coast without using a drop of oil,” President Barack Obama on Friday urged Congress to authorize spending $2 billion over the next decade to expand research into electric cars and biofuels to wean automobiles off gasoline. Obama, expanding on an initiative he addressed in his State of the Union speech last month, said the United States must shift its cars and trucks entirely off oil to...

Overreaching UA-ASU bill unlikely to clear committeeA bill that would mandate a football game between the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and Arkansas State University is unlikely to make it out of committee, state Rep. Andrea Lea wrote in an email this morning. Lea said she was appreciative of provisions in the bill that would require some proceeds from the game be donated to a charitable cause, but otherwise suggested the matter was not "something the Legislature should involve themselves...

Applications for US jobless aid reach 5-year low WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans sought unemployment aid last week, reducing the average number of weekly applications last month to a five-year low. The drop shows that fewer layoffs are strengthening the job market. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 332,000. That reduced the four-week average to 346,750, the lowest since the week of March 8, 2008, three months after the Great Recession...